Mississippi will officially celebrate its 200th birthday in December, but the state is already sponsoring events from the Gulf Coast to the Delta.

In honor of the anniversary, the organization behind Eat Jackson and Eat Y’all has partnered with Visit Mississippi to create a definitive list of 201 places to eat, stay and play across the state.

“It was like picking your favorite kid,” said Andy Chapman, founder of the Eat Cities LLC and curator of The Mississippi List. “(We were) able to put together something that builds in happy memories from around the state.”

Chapman and his team of employees solicited more than 1,000 reader submissions and scoured the state to determine inductees, which were grouped into one of five regions: the Hills, the Delta, Pines, Capital/River and Coastal.

“We feel strongly that it will bring in people from out of state and get them to experience more than the Logan’s and (the) Applebee’s that are the same everywhere in the country. We wanted to highlight everything from high-end restaurants to the dives," Chapman said.

The list will soon appear in foldout brochures available in hotel and visitor center rack stands and is available now at mississippilist.com. Visitors to the website through Feb. 13 have a chance to win a vacation to Ocean Springs.

“Mississippi is a premier culinary destination, and The Mississippi List is a great way to help visitors kick-start their explorations of the state,” said Craig Ray, tourism director at Visit Mississippi.

For Chapman, compiling the list was an opportunity to reconnect with childhood favorites and discover new gems. Growing up in Starkville, Chapman had an affinity for Anthony’s Good Food Market in nearby West Point. He was happy to find it has retained its charm, and it was included on the list.

Weidmann’s in Meridian, open since 1870, was new to Chapman and he found that it merited inclusion.

The list includes places to stay and have fun as well.

Lake Tiak-O’Khata in Louisville, Holly Springs' Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Philadelphia’s Williams Brothers general store and Laurel’s Slowboat Brewing Company are a few of the recommendations that might be new, even for Mississippi natives.

“We love how the list not only showcases the restaurant staples of each region, but also shines light on new chefs, unique lodging and one-of-a-kind recreation opportunities,” Ray said.

The tourism industry is Mississippi’s fourth largest industry, employing 124,000 people and generating $461 million in tax revenue in 2016, according to Ray.

Funding for Mississippi Development Authority remained flat for the fiscal year, but the state Legislature did fund an extra $4.6 million for the bicentennial, $1.6 million of which went to fund grants for bicentennial celebrations across the state.

Ray said 22 projects have received up to $10,000 each for the bicentennial, and monthly grant deadlines will run through October.

The additional $3 million in bicentennial funding goes toward marketing and advertising. A study by Visit Mississippi shows that for every dollar spent on marketing, the state receives $12.93 in return from tax sales revenue linked to tourism.

“We looked at other states' bicentennial celebrations and found that states who were event-oriented like we are really saw an impact,” Ray said.